Harry Potter and the Struggle to Become an Auror
by A.Bicksler
Summary: Harry comes to his 6th year and learns of his O.W.L grades. He starts to take N.E.W.T level classes to prepare him for his future life as an Auror. Snape is the new DADA teacher, so who's the new Potions teacher? Read and find out! CHAP 2 UP! REVIEW!
1. New Beginnings

FOLLOW THE BUTTERFLIES, FOLLOW THE BUTTERFLIES, WHEEE! Hehe, just kidding. That was for all you PotterPuppetPals fans out there.

RONNICUS EXPLODICUS!

Right, back to business. This will be a fan fiction of Harry and his friends at Hogwarts in their 6th year. This is just a representation of what I would write, if I were writing this book, which I'm not, but you all should know that, right? BTW, THE 6th HARRY POTTER BOOK COMES OUT ON THE 16TH OF JULY! HOW WICKED IS THAT!

Hehe, sorry, I'm too excited about this thing. I needed to fill the void between the 5th book and the 6th so I decided to write this. I avidly check my writings for spelling errors.

I have a spell list with me, so don't be surprised if I use many spells used from the novels.

Authors Note: I do not own, nor have I written any Harry Potter books. This is just the author's crazy overactive imagination at work.

Dang, I've written almost a page in Word already and haven't even begun the story.

The boy who lived groggily sat up in his bed. His scar prickled, but he was used to that now. "No worries," he thought. Then he realized. _He was going back to Hogwarts!_

Harry now leapt out of bed with anticipation. His late night of last-minute studying had caused him to fall asleep with his head lying on his Care of Magical Creatures textbook. He remembered his face sticking to it as he woke up.

None of that mattered at all now. He would finally be getting out this hellhole he was forced to call his home. Harry packed his trunk quickly, hoping to get out of the house before his Guardians woke up. No faster than when his thought had finished, he heard his Uncle Vernon's voice echo through the halls up to his room. "HARRY! Get your butt out of bed before we're late!"

Harry retorted quickly. "Oh yes, Uncle Vernon, you wouldn't want to be late getting rid of me!" He heard his uncle snort through his nose.

After coming back from his fifth year at Hogwarts, the Dursley's had treated him with more respect. They had been informed of what he had done 16 years before thanks to a visit from Alastor Moody. Since then, they had given him Dudley's other room, and forced Dudley to live in their basement, gave him decent meals and even let him watch the television while they did chores instead. He didn't take it for granted though. Knowing they could change at any moment, he was on his toes constantly.

Harry finished packing his trunk, finishing it by folding his Invisibility Cloak neatly and laying it on top of his black school robes. He stored his wand in his pocket, not knowing what might happen if something did. He was reminded of what Dumbledore had said about the war that was now starting.

He dragged his trunk downstairs and was hurriedly shoved into the Dursley's car. Harry saw Dudley wave them goodbye with his mouth full of cookies. Harry thought he looked very much like a pig.

The car ride to Kings Cross station was a ride of silence. Only saying goodbye to him as he got out of the car and took his trunk out, the Dursley's never said a word to him. But Harry thought he saw his Aunt Petunia give him a look of concern. She probably knew the enormous burden that had been placed on him and was now worried.

Harry shook it out of his mind and proceeded to go to Platform Nine and Three-Quarters. Not surprised to see both of his friends, Ron and Hermione there, they all quickly said their summer greetings and leaned casually into the platform, reappearing on the other side to see a magnificent crimson train with the words _Hogwarts Express_ written in gold lettering on the side.

Harry found the usual compartment he stayed in and settled down for the long ride ahead. Ron and Hermione were to report to the prefect cabin to see if they had any new duties that year. Thankfully, Ginny Weasley, Neville Longbottom and Luna Lovegood found the compartment Harry was staying in and settled down alongside him. As usual, Luna was reading a copy of this months _Quibbler _with the title _Crumple-Horned Snorkack Sightings! _Neville, who was stroking his _Mimbulus Mimbletonia, _was humming to himself, and Ginny was practicing some magic. She was using some of the spells Harry had told her about after the weighing of the wands in his fourth year.

"I've always liked this one," she said, making a bouquet of flowers appear at the end of her wand.

Harry said she would be good doing a magic show. Ginny laughed, slightly confused. "Of course I would Harry, any witch or wizard would be good." Harry realized what she meant. He corrected her, explaining to her muggle magic shows, in which a performer would act like he was doing magic. She knew what she meant at once. "One of the wizards who graduated from Hogwarts used to do magic shows to the muggle world. I think his name was Copperfield or something, he almost was banned from the wizarding world for breaking the Statute of Secrecy so many times." Harry just laughed.

The lunch cart rolled by and Harry bought them a large stack of Pumpkin Pasties and Cauldron Cakes. He was surprised. The train ride was almost half over and Malfoy hadn't shown up to torment them yet. Harry thought they might practice some defense spells they had learned at the past DA meetings. Neville protested, thinking the compartment might be too small, but Harry just shrugged.

Ginny suddenly whipped out her wand and shouted _Petrificus Totalus! _Harry barely had time to react. He shouted _Protego!_ The spell activated his wand, still sitting in his pocket. A white shield erupted around him and the spell bounced off his towards Neville, which it narrowly missed and broke the pot his plant was sitting in.

Neville tenderly put his plant onto his knee and pointed his new wand at the broken pot and mumbled _Reparo._ The scattered pieces of the pot reassembled themselves and now sat whole on the compartment floor.

As if on cue, Draco Malfoy stepped into the room. His blond hair was now gelled into smallish spikes. "What, may I ask, Potter, is going on here? I'm taking an innocent stroll down the aisle and I hear shouting and breaking glass. I'll be reporting this to Professor Snape." He sneered and moved on to the next compartment.

"Git," he heard Neville say. "We should do something about him one day."

"Don't worry about it," said Harry. "We all know he's a scaredy-cat. You should have seen him when Ron and I had to go into the Forbidden Forest. He requested that he and I take Fang for safety." Harry chuckled, remembering the sound that escaped Malfoy's lips when Hagrid told them Fang was more scared then Malfoy was.

Luna, who had been quiet the entire journey said quietly "We better get dressed, it's almost time to arrive at Hogwarts."

They all mumbled agreement and dressed into their robes, stowing their wands inside their robe pockets for safekeeping. They felt the train start to slow and packed away any of the things they might have taken out during the trip.

Harry packed his spellbook, studying it during the ride. He wanted to brush up his spells after not being able to use any all summer. _Standard Book of Spells, Grade Six_ was open on his seat. He had been studying the summoning charm. He had already mastered that in their fourth year. But Professor Flitwick had asked that they master it the year before for their O.W.L exam.

Harry felt a pang of nervousness in his stomach. He had forgotten he had received the results of the test in the mail. Harry, Hermione and Ron had agreed to open up their letters after the Start of Term Feast. He felt the letter in his robe pocket. These grades would be deciding his future. He wanted to be an Auror and needed N.E.W.T.S in many difficult classes. Depending on what he got would decide which classes he would take this year.

Harry got his trunk from under his seat and waited for the train to stop completely. He, Ginny, Neville and Luna got off together, rushing off to find their classmates.

All at once, Harry realized he had forgotten Hedwig! She was still at the Dursley's in her cage. Wait, he thought, I remember letting her out last night. He sighed in relief and was sure Hedwig would remember he would be here.

He heard Hagrid's traditional calling. "Firs' years over here. Firs' years right here! Hey Harry! See you later inside!" Harry waved a hello and followed the crowd to the carriages that would escort them up to the castle. The thestrals Harry had learned of were still there. He recognized the one that had taken him to the Ministry of Magic the previous year and chose that carriage. Luna and Neville joined him, obviously recognizing the creature as well.

No-one else joined them in the carriage and they got closer to the front doors of the castle. He heard Professor McGonagall's voice addressing all of them and felt a rush of gratitude. He remembered the day she had vowed to do everything in her power to make it so that Harry would be an Auror. That was last year, the year that foul woman Umbridge had come to teach. She practically ruined the year and sacked two teachers, but karma came back around and kicked her squarely in the ass. He chuckled to himself.

The Start of Term feast began with Dumbledore's usual warning that the forest was off limits to all students, but saying this, he eyed Harry, Ron and Hermione who had banded back together after Hermione and Ron were finished with their prefect duties, helping to usher in all of the students. "Tuck in," he finished. And saying this, the golden plates filled with food and the goblets filled with all sorts of drinks. The room was filled with gasps of surprise from the first years. They seemed comfortable now, after their sorting, and were now tucking in, just as Dumbledore had suggested.

Harry was filled with dread as the feast ended. He, Ron and Hermione agreed to meet later that night. Hermione and Ron, however, had to make sure all the students found their houses just fine. It was almost an hour later when Hermione and Ron, looking very bedraggled, finally made their way into Gryffindor Tower. They plopped down on two of the squashy armchairs near Harry and sighed loudly.

Harry greeted them. "Hey you guys. How did it go?" By it, he was referring to their prefect duties. The answered him by giving him dirty looks. Harry grinned at them, and they smiled back too, rolling their eyes a bit. "Shall we get started then?" They nodded their heads in agreement.

Harry took out his envelope, and watched Hermione and Ron do the same. With a nod, they all ripped open their envelopes and looked inside to see their results.


	2. Start of Term!

Legit: sorry, I don't plan on making any kind of love stories and whatnot.

imationx: thanks for your generous review. I'll try and work on making a focus of each chapter. I won't make every chapter have a cliffhanger; I just did that so people would be anxious to see my second chapter, lol. I know that good writers don't do that. The only reason I rushed my story a little bit was just so Harry could get back to Hogwarts as fast as I could make him. Once he's in Hogwarts, things will go slower than they first did. I have read Dan Brown's novels and I like his style. I'm not a man of much detail though. I like to let the reader let his imagination run wild. Okay, here we go!

Harry ripped open his envelope and quickly read the letter.

_Dear Mr. Potter,_

_Enclosed within this envelope are your results to the O.W.L. exams you took towards the end of your 5th year at Hogwarts. Below you will find a list of subjects and their grade beside them ranging from O to D._

_O Outstanding_

_E Exceeds Expectations_

_A Acceptable_

_P Poor_

_D Dreadful_

'_A' is the last passing grade._

Harry's heart lifted a bit. At least there was not a T grade, meaning Troll. He returned to the letter.

_Grades are as follows and will not be changed._

_Divination A_

_History of Magic A_

_Astronomy A_

_Care of Magical Creatures E_

_Transfiguration E_

_Potions E_

_Herbology E_

_Charms O_

As Harry scanned the list, his heart leapt. So far, he had all passing grades. But one class was missing. Harry's eyes fell on the last class and was ecstatic to see:

_Defense Against the Dark Arts O_

Harry passed every class! But there was still more on the letter.

_Congratulations Mr. Potter. You have passed all of your classes. We have been informed by your head of house that you wish to become an Auror. Continue grades like this and we have a fine future Auror! You are now going to take N.E.W.T level Potions, Transfiguration, Herbology, Charms and Defense Against the Dark Arts. Good luck Mr. Potter. These classes will be more difficult then normal, and we hope to see you very soon._

_Sincerely,_

_Professor Marchbanks_

_P.S. Professor Tofty would like, once again, for me to thank you for showing her the outstanding job you did with your Patronus charm. We all know how that has helped you in the past!_

Harry was about to tell Ron and Hermione the great news when he saw the disappointed look on Hermione's face.

"Hermione, what's wrong?" he asked quietly.

Ron merely chuckled and said "She's disappointed because she didn't receive all O's. She got an E in Arithmancy."

"Well," said Hermione, "considering that Arithmancy is one of the most difficult classes, I'm quite please with my grade. Naturally I got an O in Muggle Studies. Harry, I'm sure if you took that class, you would easily pass with at least an E." She sat down. Harry, although he had heard straight from Hermione's mouth that she did not worry about her grade in Arithmancy, saw her take out notes with symbols and squiggles all over the paper. He was getting a headache just looking at it and was sure he would fail the class if he tried to take it.

Harry yawned. He looked at the common room clock and was surprised to see it was already past 10. An exhausting train ride and a filling meal had been the perfect combination to make anyone sleepy. Harry yawned again and said goodnight to Ron and Hermione.

"Harry," said Hermione, "be sure to wake up on time for classes tomorrow. I think you will be surprised to see _what _is on your class list in the morning." She smiled at him. Wondering what she meant and why she had emphasized the word 'what', he went upstairs to the boy's dormitory.

Harry's stuff was laid out in a neat pile. His trunk had a birdcage on top and Harry was delighted to see it was Hedwig's cage, but she was nowhere in sight. Harry unpacked his trunk, putting his robes into his wardrobe and getting his books ready for the days ahead. His books were held by a satchel he had received from Hermione for his 17th birthday.

Harry was surprised to see an owl fly into his room. It landed on Harry's arm as he held it out. The letter was address to him. Not surprised, he opened it, but he was extremely surprised to see it was written by Aunt Petunia. Harry opened the letter, a little scared. It read:

_Dearest Harry,_

_I know how horrible your uncle and I have been to you these many years. I discovered your owl's cage in your room after you left. Opposite to what Vernon says, I think your owl is the loveliest creature I have ever seen, of course, I couldn't say that in front of Vernon. I know very little about your world, other than what your mother told me. _

_I took the cage to London today while Vernon was working and mailed it using the magical post in Diagon Alley. That was one thing your mother did tell me, where to go if I needed to get to Diagon Alley. The Leaky Cauldron was a bit dodgy at first, but after explaining my situation to a courteous witch, she showed me the way into Diagon Alley. That was after I had told her I was the sister of Lily Potter, mother to you, Harry Potter._

_I found myself in a crowded alley filled with all sorts of wondrous things. I never knew how amazing your world was. It took me forever to find the post office because I kept looking at everything. I even went into a wand shop. Harry, it turns out I'm a witch! I walked into the little shop and Mr. Ollivander showed me wands. I knew of course that I would never be able to make things happen, but I did Harry, I shot sparks out of one of the wands he showed me! I explained to him who I was and he told me a short story. The story told of how my mother and father took me and Lily to Ollivander's after we had gotten our letters. My mother and father saw how expensive everything was and made the choice to only send Lily to Hogwarts. I was too young to object and I forgot that I was gifted. Mr. Ollivander, out of the graciousness of his heart, gave me my wand. I exchanged some of my money into your currency and bought a few spell books I have seen you use. I hope to brush up on my magic when I get home. He showed me a few simple spells to use around the house. I know you are underage right now Harry, but when you get home and are of age, I want you to teach me everything you know about magic._

_The people at the post office told me your cage would arrive shortly before you would, so I thanked them and left. Diagon Alley was an interesting experience. Best of luck at school Harry and I anticipate your coming home. I have so much to ask!_

_Love,_

_Your Aunt Petunia_

Harry was stunned. First of all, he couldn't believe his Aunt Petunia had used words like 'lovely' and 'wondrous'. He was so used to her making rude comments about magic. But now, his Aunt was a witch! He finally had someone else to connect with. Harry couldn't believe that a secret like that had been kept so long from her. He remembered the first time he had been told he was a wizard. He couldn't believe it.

Harry was now exhausted. This had been a very exciting day; his grades, and now this. He couldn't wait to tell Ron and Hermione tomorrow. And, he was surprised to find himself thinking he couldn't wait to see his Aunt. He would send her a letter explaining to meet him at a Hogsmeade weekend. Harry would have written a response, but Hedwig was nowhere to be found and he was too tired to walk to the Owlery and use a school owl.

Harry tucked the extensive letter in his trunk and stripped to his underwear. After pulling the covers up around him, he fell into a dreamless sleep.

Harry woke the next day feeling unusually refreshed. He quickly took a shower and ran to the Great Hall, tripping out the portrait door along the way. Ignoring the Fat Lady's remarks about "carelessness" and "clumsiness" he continued to run to the Great Hall. The plates were already filled with delicious breakfast foodstuffs. Harry looked to the Teachers table and saw Hagrid beaming down at him. Harry waved and Hagrid gave him a wink. Harry scanned the table and saw a new teacher. It was no one he recognized. This was no surprise. This was most definitely the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. There hadn't been a steady DADA teacher since Harry's arrival at the school.

Harry sat down next to Ron at the Gryffindor table. Hermione had not shown up yet. They discussed it over crumpets slathered with grape jelly and orange marmalade. Their discussion slowed as their head of house, Professor McGonagall handed out their schedule, complete with new class lists. As McGonagall handed Harry his schedule, she smiled at him.

"Well Mr. Potter, I think you will be most pleased with your schedule. I am glad to say you made it to my N.E.W.T level class. Remember what I said last year!" She winked at him and moved off. She meant, of course, the day she pledged to help him in his quest to become an Auror.

Dumbledore stood up quietly and the room fell silent almost immediately. He cleared his throat. "I am pleased to see you have all made it back safe and sound. I am sure many of you have noticed we have a new addition to our staff." There was a murmur of agreement. He continued. "I am delighted to announce we have a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, and a new Potions teacher."

Harry choked on the Pumpkin juice he was drinking. His fellow students looked at him with an amused expression on their faces. Harry only remembered seeing one new face up at the teacher's table. If there was a new Potions teacher, that could mean only one thing.

"Taking over as the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Snape has graciously stepped in.

A roar came from the Slytherin table as they cheered their head of house. Harry hardly heard it. He looked at his schedule and saw the name _Nymphadora Tonks_ next to the class _Potions_. "So that's why I didn't recognize her," Harry thought. Nymphadora was a Metamorphmagus, a human shape shifter if you will. She was able to change her appearance whenever necessary.

Tonks stood up and introduced herself. While doing so, she changed shape many times to show off her power to the students. "I am here to teach you Potions because I am an Auror. Becoming an Auror took many years of studying and I did get an O in both my O.W.L year and N.E.W.T year. I gladly accepted this job knowing that the former Potions teacher," she motioned to Snape, "would be taking over as the new DADA teacher. Thank you." Tonks sat down and a burst of applause came from the audience. She turned bright pink. Harry couldn't be sure if she was actually blushing or using her power.

Harry enjoyed the rest of his breakfast. Hermione finally showed up before classes started in the Gryffindor common room. "I've just been to the library. I think Snape might be one of the best DADA teachers yet, he has probably been coming up with lessons over the years. It's going to be great having Tonks as a teacher, right Harry? You saw how well you did on your O.W.L. exam without Snape breathing down your neck. Tonks ought to make Potions really easy. You'll see Harry."

Harry looked at her and said "How did you know Tonks is our new Potions teacher? You weren't at breakfast!" Hermione just smiled and walked away. Harry had a feeling today was going to be a good day. He had his first N.E.W.T class with Flitwick after his first class, Care of Magical Creatures with Hagrid.

Harry picked up his books needed for that day, put them in his satchel, stowed his wand in his robe pockets and went to his first class in his 6th year at Hogwarts.


End file.
